Saturday, April 10, 2010

Mulally: Ford Dealerships like Apple Stores

Can Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, remake the auto purchase experience? He's going to try. In this video, he explains how he would like a visit to a Ford dealership to feel like walking into an Apple store. That clearly represents a lofty goal, but an admirable one. We all know that buying an automobile, for the most part, feels about as enjoyable as going to the dentist for most of us. Can Ford reshape that experience? If so, they will have a leg up on the competition. Mulally clear understands that rebuilding Ford requires more than just making higher quality, more attractive cars. He also has to connect with the customer in a more powerful way. He has to make that purchase experience more positive. Can he do it? Changing the culture of dealerships will be an uphill climb, but his turnaround efforts to date make me unwilling to bet against him.

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